dsulpy
Joined May 2001
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Reviews5
dsulpy's rating
It seems that most of the negative reviews that this film has gotten are based upon people's misconception that the film should be what THEY want it to be, not what it really is. The truth is, although there's certainly humor in the film, it's not a comedy - nor does it pretend to be a fairy tale, or a social expose, or a political statement. To me, it's a film about cruelty and compassion - both by human beings and by fate. I found it both life-affirming, and heartbreaking - often at the same time, and I thought the acting was excellent on everyone's part. To me, well worth seeing, and quite unique.
An original plot, great cinematography, direction, and an unforgettable
performance from Robert Mitchum. Also the best premiere directing job by
anyone since Orson Welles did Citizen Kane - what a shame Laughton didn't (or couldn't) direct more like this. Also, the fact that the film has "artistic" shots isn't a flaw for most people - it's a plus, and this film is very well done.
performance from Robert Mitchum. Also the best premiere directing job by
anyone since Orson Welles did Citizen Kane - what a shame Laughton didn't (or couldn't) direct more like this. Also, the fact that the film has "artistic" shots isn't a flaw for most people - it's a plus, and this film is very well done.
A beautiful balance of humor, horror and mystery in this one-of-a-kind masterpiece. It's almost impossible to think of someone seeing the end of the final episode of "Kingdom" and NOT doing everything in their power to locate a copy of "Kingdom II" so they can continue.
Kingdom has just been released on DVD in Canada and the U.K., and was previously available on a (now out of print) Taiwan edition. Unfortunately, none of these is very satisfactory. The Taiwanese edition attempts to fit the 4 hours (plus) onto one side of one DVD, creating artifact problems that, at times, make the DVD look more like a VCD. It does have removeable English subtitles, though. Von Trier's comments are included for the final episode - but are not subtitled.
The British DVD looks far better, and also has removable subtitles. The last half of the final episode, though, is riddled with tape glitches, and all of the original credits (except at the beginning of the first episode) have been done away with and replaced with not-very-attractive digitally overlaid titles. There's no sign of Von Trier's post episode comments, and some of the dialogue has not been subtitled (including one of the highlights of the series, where Stig cries out: "Danish scum!" to the heavens).
The Canadian DVD, on the other hand, has ALL of the original post-episode comments complete (and subtitled!), as well as all of the original opening credits and selections from previous episodes which open Episodes 2-5. That's the good part. The bad part is that this disc has the absolute worst subtitles I've ever seen on a DVD - they're white letters in ugly black boxes (!!!), and all of them are justified to the left of the screen rather than centered. For someone who's used to watching subtitled films, this makes the series almost unwatchable.
I've read that Von Trier's company is itself working on releasing "Kingdom" (complete with a "making of" documentary, it seems!). Unfortunately, this is said NOT to contain any English subtitles. So, unless LVT changes his mind and includes English, the best we can hope for is for a decent American release somewhere down the line... Criterion would do nicely, as this fine series deserves it.
Kingdom has just been released on DVD in Canada and the U.K., and was previously available on a (now out of print) Taiwan edition. Unfortunately, none of these is very satisfactory. The Taiwanese edition attempts to fit the 4 hours (plus) onto one side of one DVD, creating artifact problems that, at times, make the DVD look more like a VCD. It does have removeable English subtitles, though. Von Trier's comments are included for the final episode - but are not subtitled.
The British DVD looks far better, and also has removable subtitles. The last half of the final episode, though, is riddled with tape glitches, and all of the original credits (except at the beginning of the first episode) have been done away with and replaced with not-very-attractive digitally overlaid titles. There's no sign of Von Trier's post episode comments, and some of the dialogue has not been subtitled (including one of the highlights of the series, where Stig cries out: "Danish scum!" to the heavens).
The Canadian DVD, on the other hand, has ALL of the original post-episode comments complete (and subtitled!), as well as all of the original opening credits and selections from previous episodes which open Episodes 2-5. That's the good part. The bad part is that this disc has the absolute worst subtitles I've ever seen on a DVD - they're white letters in ugly black boxes (!!!), and all of them are justified to the left of the screen rather than centered. For someone who's used to watching subtitled films, this makes the series almost unwatchable.
I've read that Von Trier's company is itself working on releasing "Kingdom" (complete with a "making of" documentary, it seems!). Unfortunately, this is said NOT to contain any English subtitles. So, unless LVT changes his mind and includes English, the best we can hope for is for a decent American release somewhere down the line... Criterion would do nicely, as this fine series deserves it.